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June 13, 2018, 10:51 a.m.
Some of the highlights from the five states that held primaries on Tuesday: Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC 01) became the second House incumbent to lose in a primary after Rep. Rob Pittenger (R-NC 09).
Meanwhile, women swept in Virginia. State Sen. Jennifer Wexton (D), the only Democrat in the race with name ID and a built-in base in the district’s most populous county, will take on Rep. Barbara Comstock (R). EMILY’s List, which had stayed out of the primary, announced its endorsement of Wexton on Wednesday morning. The three other Democrat-targeted districts in Virginia also have female nominees.
An in Nevada, several familiar faces will battle for two open swing seats in the southern portion of the state. The winner of the race to face Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME 02) is still unknown, thanks to the state’s new ranked-choice voting system.
ME-02: With 76 percent of precincts reporting, state Assistant Majority Leader Jared Golden (D) was just shy of passing the 50-percent threshold needed to avoid an instant runoff under the state’s new ranked-choice voting system. He was 8 points ahead of national-monument advocate Lucas St. Clair (D) as of Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m. ET. (AP)
SOUTH CAROLINA:
SC-01: Sanford lost to state Rep. Katie Arrington (R) by 2,661 votes, 51 percent to 47 percent, with 100 percent of precincts reporting. Arrington got an eleventh-hour endorsement from President Trump, who tweeted his support for her just hours before the polls closed. On the Democratic side, attorney Joe Cunningham (D) handily won his primary with 72 percent of the vote. The Lowcountry district leans heavily Republican, but the Cook Political Report recently moved its rating from “Solid Republican” to “Likely Republican.” (Secretary of State)
“From his time as a congressman in the 1990s, to his eight-year governorship, to his unexpected House comeback that followed, Sanford had long established himself as a figure who cut against the grain — the rare politician who loved to break with his own party. Yet in taking on Trump, his friends and political allies say, he took it a step too far. His defeat is bound to raise fears among Republicans about the political perils of crossing a president who remains deeply popular with GOP voters.” (Politico)
SC-04: In the race for retiring Rep. Trey Gowdy’s (R-04) seat, former state Sen. Lee Bright (R) will advance to the runoff, but a recount will be needed to decide whether state Sen. William Timmons (R) or state Rep. Dan Hamilton (R) will join him. (Greenville News)
VIRGINIA:
VA-02: Retired Naval Commander Elaine Luria (D) easily beat teacher Karen Mallard (D) for the right to take on Rep. Scott Taylor (R) in his Virginia Beach-based district. (Department of Elections)
VA-07: Former CIA operations officer Abigail Spanberger (D) trounced airline pilot Dan Ward (D), 73 percent to 27 percent, in the Democratic primary to challenge Rep. Dave Brat (R). (Department of Elections)
VA-10: Wexton took first place with 42 percent, followed by former State Department official Alison Friedman (D) with 23 percent; former congressional Chief of Staff Lindsey Davis Stover with 16 percent and Army veteran Dan Helmer (D) with 13 percent. (Department of Elections)
Comstock won just 61 percent of the vote in her primary against 2014 Senate candidate Shak Hill. (Department of Elections)
NEVADA:
NV-03: 2016 NV-04 candidate Susie Lee (D) will face 2016 NV-03 nominee Danny Tarkanian (R) in the race for Rep. Jacky Rosen’s (D) open seat.
NV-04: Former Reps. Steven Horsford (D) and Cresent Hardy (R) will square off in a 2014 rematch. Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D) is retiring after allegations of sexual harassment. (Secretary of State)
NORTH DAKOTA AT-LARGE: In the race for Rep. Kevin Cramer’s (R) seat, state Sen. Kelly Armstrong (R) will face former state Senate Minority Leader Mac Schneider (D). The at-large district leans heavily Republican. (Secretary of State)
ON THE AIR. The American Action Network announced a six-figure ad campaign in 28 districts to tout House Republicans’ work to stem the opioid crisis. The full list of districts can be found here. The 30-second spot features a mother discussing her son’s death from a heroin overdose. (release)
ON THE GROUND. “Organizing for Action, which emerged from the vestiges of Mr. Obama’s old campaign operation, intends to deploy organizers in 27 Republican-held congressional districts that could be key to a Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives. Their mission, officials with the group said, will be to coordinate and train volunteers and deploy them to help Democrats in states from California to North Carolina.” (New York Times)
The targeted districts: AZ-02; CA-04; CA-10; CA-21; CA-25; CA-39; CA-45; CA-48; CA-49; CO-06; IA-01; IL-06; KS-03; MN-02; MN-03; MO-02; NC-09; NC-13; NJ-11; NY-11; PA-01; PA-06; PA-07; TX-07; TX-23; TX-32; and WI-01. (Politico)
ON IMMIGRATION. “After frenzied late-night negotiations,” Speaker Paul Ryan “defused a moderate Republican rebellion on Tuesday with a promise to hold high-stakes votes on immigration next week, thrusting the divisive issue onto center stage during a difficult election season for Republicans. The move by Mr. Ryan, announced late Tuesday by his office, was something of a defeat for the rebellious immigration moderates, who fell two signatures short of the 218 needed to force the House to act this month on bipartisan measures aimed more directly at helping young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.” (New York Times)